CA1295163C - Paving-stone set, especially concrete paving-stone set - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT
A paving-stone set, especially a concrete paving-stone set with a square paving stone and with a larger and a smaller rectangular paving stone for constructing garden layouts, paths or the like with paving stones of which the side faces and the upper and lower faces are made plane and the transitional region between plane side faces and upper and lower plane faces is made substantially sharp-edged or rounded, wherein at least two side faces located opposite one another or adjoining one another are made rounded towards at least one corner region, the rounding, as seen in plan view, being shaped as a curve with a radius of curva-ture decreasing constantly towards the corner regions (clothoid).

Description

1295~3 , Descripeion:

The invention relates to a paving-stone set, es pecially a concrete paving-stone set for constructing garden layouts, paths or the like with paving stones of which the side faces and upper and Lo~er faces are made plane and the transitional region bet~een a side face and the upper or lower faces is made substantially sharp-edged or rounded.
The external shaping of concrete paving stones is governed by both technical and visual factors. Thus, paving stones with plane side faces are produced in a square or rectangular basic shape, so that the paving stones, when laid in a composite structure over the entire surface, are supported against one another, thus ensuring a firm bond. Moreover, during lay;ng, directional stabi-lity is improved in comparison ~ith stones having curved outer contours, and a more efficient utilization of shape and of area is guaranteedO Furthermore, the advantage of plane outer contours is that the molds for producing the paving stones are cheaper. In addition, plane outer face;
guarantee the greatest possible bundling capacity.
Houever, a laid surface uith completely plane outer contours gives the observer a very monotonous im-pression, and because of this knoun paving stones (U~S.
Patent Specification 4,572,699) are provided with a speci-fic paving-stone head structure. This can be obtained by means of rounded edges, drawn-do~n corner regions, WdVy recesses or the like.
Another advantage ot plane side faces is that the stonos can be l3;d very easily in a composite structure, since the side faces are supported against one another.
Furthermore, good directional stability and alignment of the stones are possible during laying. Houever, the di~-advantage of plane side faces is that between ~he indi~i-dual paving stones there is little free space for water to run off or to seep a~ay into the subsoil or frr ~he pos-siblr growing of grass. Known paving stones are therefore sometimei given curved outer contours. eut this entails ,~..

~2~ Çi3 2 278~4-2 the disadvantages mentioned above.
The object on which the invention is based is to provide a paving stone with substantially plane outer contours, that is to say an upper and a lower face and side Eaces, bu-t of a shaping which allows interspaces between the pavlng stones laid against one another. At the same time, the shaping will be such that a completely irregular appearance is obtained in the laid state.
According to the invention, this object is achieved because at least two side faces located opposite one another or adjoining one another are made rounded towards at least one corner region, the rounding, as seen in plan view, being shaped as a curve with a radius of curvature decreasing constantly towards the corner regions (clothoid).
The advantage of the paving stone according to the invention is that the plane side Eaces make it possible to ensure good laying in a composite structure, since the stones butt against one another in the laid state. The rounding in the Eorm of a curve which decreases constantly towards the aorner regions (clothoid) gives the stone shape a completely irregular appearance, thereby avoiding a monotonous aspect. At the same time, the clothoids are distributed completely irregularly in the particular corner regions oE the pavlng stones, so that virtually every paving stone has a difEerent e~Eect. Also, one and the same paving stone itsel~ has a diEerent efEect, depending on where the clothoid comes to rest ln the laid composite structure, that is to say as a result of the rotation oE the paving stone. The recess created as a result of the rounding in the corner region then allows water to Elow oEE easily and, if appropriate, makes it l~g~6~

possible to grow plants or grass in this region. If the rounding were made as a conventional rounding of cons-tant radius or simply as a constant bevel, the stone shape would not guarantee the desired visual effect, together with the associated possibilities of good water -flow-off and growth of plants. In particular, such a paving stone would also always have the same effect, when rotated.
Therefore this invention seeks to provide a paving-stone set, especially a concrete paving-stone set with a square paving stone and with a larger and a smaller rectangular paving stone for constructing garden layouts, paths or the like with paving stones of which the side faces and the upper and lower faces are made plane and the transitional region between plane side faces and upper and lower plane faces is made substantially sharp-edged or rounded, wherein at least cwo side faces located opposite one another or adjoining one another are made rounded towards at least one corner region, the rounding, as seen in plan view, being shaped as a curve with a radius of curvature decreasing constantly towards the corner regions (clothoid).
In one embodiment of the invention the clothoid-shaped curvature is restricted to approximately 1/4 to 1/6 of the total side length. As a result, the main side Eace remains plane, thus aEfording the associated advantages during laying and ensuring the associated stability of the laid composite surEace.
In another embodiment, at least one corner of the paving stone between two side ~aces is made sharp-edged and right-angled.
This serves for a clear visual delimitation in relation to the clothoid-shaped curvature in the remain;ng corner regions.

~2~ 3 ~ 27~ 2 Furthermore, a right-angled corner can utllize the area in edge regions ln the most e-Eficient way possible.
In a further embodiment, the upper and lower edge between the upper face or lower face and the side faces is made sharp-edged. According to sub-claim 5, this sharp edge is broken irregularly.
Because the side edge faces are curved in the form oE a clothoid in the corner regionsr the paving stone also acquires a crowned rustic visual appearance, this partly being reinforced by the broken edges. At the same time, because of the plane upper face, it is easy to walk on the laid surEace and easy to clean it, in particular to clear it of snow, etc., a good grip still being guaranteed by the interspaces formed by the clothoids.
When concrete paving stones are produced in production molds, the transition between the lower face and side faces is usually made sharp-edged. So that both the side which is the lower during production in the production mold and the upper side subjected to the force of the male die can be used equally as the upper visible side in the laid state, the continuous edges between these two faces and the side faces are each made sharp-edged. The sharp edge is then broken in order to give a rustlc appearance.
This is achieved by uncontrolled tipping from the ~otor truck or by means oE a special revolving drum, in which the stones knock against one another.
In another embodiment, the structure of the ~ace which is the lower in the production mold is made coarser, because of the coarser back concrete, than the upper face which is subjected to the Eorce of the male die oE the molding machine and in which a ,~

4a 278~4-2 finer facing concrete of another composition is used. Then, if both sides are ~Ised at random during laying, this gives a looser appearance, if appropriate with diEferent color structures as a result of the addition of coloring agents to the facing concrete and back concrete.
In a final embodiment, the paving stones are constructed according to the building-block system, with a square standard stone as seen in plan view, a larger rectangular 1 1/2-size stone as seen in plan view, and with a smaller rectangular half-size stone as seen in plan view.
Of course, the clothoid can also be Eormed by traversing.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and explained in detail in the following description wherein:
Figs. la and lb show a larger rectangular stone in plan view and in a perspective view respectively;
Figs. 2a and 2b show a paving stone of square horizontal projection in plan view and in perspective view respectively;
Figs. 3a and 3b show a smaller paving stone of rectangular cross~section in plan view and in perspective view respectively; and Fig. 4 shows a plan view of a laid surface or a die mold Eor producing the paving stones.
Fig. la shows a paving stone (1) which is rectangular in its basic cross-section and which has a length of Lla238 mm and a width o bl=178 mm. ln conEormity with this, the side length of the square s~one (2) according to Fig. 2a amounts to L2=b2=178 mm.

4b 278~-2 The length of the small rectangular stone (3) according to Fig. 3a amounts to L3=178 mm and the width is b3=88 mm. The lengths bl Ib2, ~.

5~i3 l2 and l3 are accordingly the same. The height of the paving stones (1), (2) and (3) amounts to approximaeely h ~~ 70 mm.
fig. la shows the various possibilities ~or Yor mlng the curves at the side faces (8 to 11) in the corner regions. The corner r~gions are designated by the refer-ence symbol (4 to 7). At the same time, the actual shaping is marked by an unbroken line, and the shaping which is al-so possible, if appropriate, is marked by a dot-and-dash line.
In the paving stone t1) ~figure 1a), the corner (~) is designed as a so-ralled clothoid (31), that is to say the plane side fa~e ~8) has, both towards the left-hand corner region ~4) and towards the right-hand corner region (5), a rounding which, as seen in plan view, is shaped as a curve uith radii of curvature tR4, R4', R4" and Rs, Rs', R5") decreasing constantly to~ards the corner regions.
In the corner region (4), tor exampLe, the clothoicl (31) starts on the side face (8) at a length l4 ~ 40 mm ~ith a radius R4' ~ 81 mm and ends on the adjoining Plane side face (9) uith a length of ls ~12 mm and a radius of R4"
~ 13 mm. Accordingly, the radius R4 becomes constantly smaller to~ards the corner region, this being character-istic for this shaping.
The corner (S) in fig. la has, for example, a clo-thoid (31) ~hich starts on the side face ~8) at a distance l6 ~ 45 mm from the corner region and ends approximately at a length l7 ~ 7 mm in the side face (10). The radius at the start of the clothoid (3l) is approximately Rs' ~ 165 mm and ends in the corner region at Rs" ~ 7.5 mm.
The corner region ~b) of the stone shape ~1) in fig. la is drsigned as a right-angled sharp edge (32) with a round;n~ ot R6 ~ mm.
The corner region (7) o~ the stone shape in f~ig.
1a has a clothoid form which starts on ;he longer side face ~1~) at d distance of l8 ~ 40 mm and ends laterally in the 5 ide tace ~lO) at a distance lg ~ 10 mm. ,he maximum ra-dius amounts to, for example, R7'~ 93 mm, and the minimu,n radius amounts to R7" ~ 11 mm.

~ he corner regions indicated by dot-and-dash lines in the corner regions (4 to 7) in Fig. 1 represent alterna-tive forms of construction of the clothoids (31') and of the right-angled construction (32') of the corner regions.
Thus, the radii of the clothoids (31, 31') can assume highly varied values for different shapes.
The paving stone ~2) of rectangular cross-section, shoun in Fig. 7a, has corner regions (12 to 15) ~hich are o~ a basic design similar to or the same as that of the cor-ner regions (4 to 7~ of the paving stone ~1) in Fig. 1a.
Thus, in the exemplary embodiment ascord;ng to figure 2a, clothoids (31) are provided in the corner regions (12, 14, 15), ~hilst the corner (13) is made right-angled (32).
The same is true of the smaller rectangular paving stone t3) shoun in Fig. 3a, uith the corner regions (16 to 19), the corner region ~18) of the paving stone (3) once again being nade right-angled ~32) ~ithout the construction of a clothoid. The lengths of the clothoids (31) are desig-nated by l~, l6 and l8 according to the design in FigO 1a.
As mentioned, the clothoids (31, 31') can have dit-ferent starting and end radii. The clothoid (31) sta ts in each case on a side face at a length of l4, l6, l8 of 1/4 to 1/6 of the total length l1, b1; l2, b2; l3, b3) of the particular side face.
Fig. 4 sho~s the ditferent types of paving stones to be formed from Figures 1a to 3a. The different types are identified by the type designation A to J, and the paving stones A' to J' illustrated are formed as a result of a rotation of the paving stone through 180 or a mirror-image representation of the stones A to J. The louer face and the upper face of the paving stone can be used equally as the visible face in the laid state.
The illustration in Fig. 4 also serves to shou a laid surface, and for the sake of greater clarity there are distances between the side faces touching one another. In the laid state, the particular side faces are in contact with one another. It can be seen clearly from tne illus-tration in Fig. 4 that marked recesses or cavities (37) are c~tained in the corr,er regions in the 20ne of the ,.~

clothoids, par~icularly also uhen several clothoids ~31) of adjacent stones meet in the corner regions. This results in a suf~iciently large gap (37) fclr water to flo~ off or, if appropriate, for growing grass on these part surfaces.
The illustration according eo Fig. ~ can also serve to sho~ the initial mold or die mold for producing the individual stone shapes or maehine shapes ~ith the best possible utilization of the mold area, earh die mold being composed of ~he various stone shapes, as shoun in Fig. 4. This guarantees that~ during each production operation, the greatly varying stone shapes A to J or A' to J' are produced.
Figures lb to 3b sho~ the stone shapes according to Figs. 1a to 3a in perspective. The larger rectangular stone (1) has a shaping as designated by A' in Figure 4, that is to say, as seen in plan vie~ the stone has a cloth-oid ~31) only in the upper right-hand corner region (20) and in the Lower left-hand corner region ~21). The other t~o corner regions (22, 23~ are macle right-angled (32), that is to say the side faces t1û' Incl 11') meet at right ang~es.
rhis is also true of the side faces ~8' and 9').
Of the stone shape in Fig. 1b, the continuous sharp-edged broken upper edge (3B) bet~een the upper visible fare ~24) and the side faces (8' to 10') is also shoun. The same applies to th~ continuous louer edge (25) to the invisib~e lo~er face, this like~ise being made continuously sharp-edged and broken, so that the stone can be turned over easily.
The broken places (26) are obtained by knocking oft the otherwise continuous sharp edge (38, 25) uhen the paving stones are tipped otf from a ~otor ~ruck onto the ground.
Ho~ever, the paving stones can also be knocked against one another in a drum, so that the erJges break irregularly.
The square paving stones (2') and smaller rectan-gular pavi~g stones ~3') shoun in Figures 2b and 3b respec-tively have basically the same design as the paving stone (l') in figure 1b. The paving stone (2') has c(othoids ~31) in the corner regions ('8 ~o 3û), ~hilst th~ c~rner region ~27) is designed as a right-angled corner ~32).
The same is true of ~he corner regions (3~ Jnd 36) . ~
~.

i3 of the paving stone ~3') in Fig. 3b, which are designed as clothoids ~31), whilst the other two corner regions ~33, 35) are designed as right-angled corners (32).

Claims (8)

1. A paving-stone set, especially a concrete paving-stone set with a square paving stone and with a larger and a smaller rectangular paving stone for constructing garden layouts, paths or the like with paving stones of which the side faces and the upper and lower faces are made plane and the transitional region between plane side faces and upper and lower plane faces is made substantially sharp-edged or rounded, wherein at least two side faces located opposite one another or adjoining one another are made rounded towards at least one corner region, the rounding, as seen in plan view, being shaped as a curve with a radius of curvature decreasing constantly towards the corner regions (clothoid).

2. A paving stone as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in order to form a clothoid, the side face can be provided with a clothoid-shaped curvature towards the corner region over approximately 1/4 to 1/6 of the total length, and the radius of curvature decreasing constantly towards the corner region is variable.

3. A paving stone as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one corner region between two side faces of the paving stone is made sharp-edged and as a right angled corner.

4. A paving stone as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper and/or the lower continuous edge between the upper face or lower face and the side face is made sharp-edged.

5. A paving stone as claimed in claim 4, wherein the upper and/or the lower continuous edge between the upper face or lower face and the side face is made sharp-edged and broken irregularly.

6. A paving stone as claimed in claim 1, wherein the structure of the face which is the lower in the production mold is made coarser than the upper face, which is produced by the male die of a molding machine.

7. A paving-stone set as claimed in claim 1, wherein the paving stones are constructed according to the building-block system, with a square standard stone as seen in plan view, a larger rectangular 1 1/2-size stone as seen in plan view, and with a rectangular half-size stone smaller than the standard stone.

8. A paving-stone set as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clothoid is formed by traversing.